We met on Saturday (28th Feb) at Carlton Hill meeting house in Leeds, this being the first of our members’ meetings of the year. In our worship, we remembered Geoffrey Carnall and Christine Davis who had died recently. Representatives came from North Scotland, Nottingham and all areas between. Other Friends from Leeds and the surrounding area also joined us.

We are very concerned about the continuing and growing tensions and armed violence arising from the conflict in Ukraine. We wrote to your predecessor, William Hague, just under a year ago urging action that would seek to de-escalate the conflict.

Northern Friends Peace Board (NFPB) supports and encourages ‘the active promotion of peace in all its height and breadth’. We are a Quaker group founded more than 100 years ago and have been supporting action, reflection, networking and witness for peace since then. We hope you find what you are looking for, and more, on this website.

Issues for the 2015 UK General Election

We are in this world together but the way we are living is not sustainable; it is unfair, unjust and environmentally destructive. Economic inequality, our use of the finite resources that feed our consumption, and our production of waste continues to grow. Our dependence upon fossil fuels that are driving dangerous climate change doesn’t diminish. Our world, as a result, is insecure.

Wealth is concentrated in the hands of a powerful few at the expense of people and planet, and the resulting inequalities fuel conflict. The interests of those whose power comes from the control of diminishing resources are protected by ever-more costly military and other technology as a mistaken means to building security.

We are called to question the short-termist, market-led approaches that drive resource misuse, inequality, instability and conflict. We believe that there is a moral imperative to change from a society driven by perceived wants and fears, and by financial profit, to one that recognises that all people have the same rights to security.

An alternative way forward

To build peace our governments must address the causes of war as well as promoting non-military responses to conflict. We envisage and advocate a secure future that will benefit everyone on our planet. This should be based on understanding the real threats, how they can be dealt with, and tackling the causes of conflict and insecurity.

Some questions for parliamentary candidates in the 2015 General Election

We ask that politicians of all persuasions recognise the changes that are needed and work to create sustainable security for all.

How would you/your party promote positive and effective action, nationally and internationally, to achieve the reductions in carbon emissions needed to halt climate change?

What would you/your party do to promote greater equality in this country and internationally, recognising that inequality and marginalisation is damaging to society and to our relationship with others on this planet?

Will you/ your party pledge to remove all nuclear weapons from this country and work to remove nuclear weapons throughout the world? What steps would you take to promote international nuclear disarmament?

Will your party work to reduce the manufacture and export of armaments and instead take action to promote the use of those skills to produce socially and environmentally useful products?

What will you/ your party do in relation to the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), a proposed agreement that would put more power into the hands of major corporations and undermine parliamentary democracy?

This leaflet has been produced by Northern Friends Peace Board, working for peace with and for Quakers in the North of Britain.www.nfpb.org.uk 01204 382330